Market attendance up

Attendance figures for the opening weekend of the Galway Continental Christmas Market were “nicely up” on last year, according to Chairman of the Galway City Business Association (GCBA) Paul Faller.

The market was officially launched by Mayor of Galway City Cllr Hildegarde Naughton on Friday and thousands of Galwegians and visitors alike made the trip to the city centre market over the weekend.

“We were very happy with the weekend, the numbers were nicely up and we had 70,000 through the market,” said Mr Faller, adding that the carousel is proving particularly popular. The number of children visiting Santa’s Grotto, which is in aid of Enable Ireland and the ISPCC, is also up on last year.

The market opens daily from 11am to 8pm Monday to Wednesday and 10am to 10pm Thursday to Sunday, with live performances, charity events and Christmas lantern making workshops planned over the next three weeks. Visit www.galwaychristmasmarket.ie or find the market’s page on Facebook.